Why a 108-year-old barber has no plans to retire anytime soon
At 108 years old, most people are enjoying a well-earned retirement. But Shitsui Hakoishi, a slender, white-haired Japanese woman, is not most people.
Ms Hakoishi, officially recognised this week by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest female barber, has no intention of hanging up her shears anytime soon.
The official certificate, presented Wednesday, brought Hakoishi immense joy – second only, she said, to the satisfaction of her loyal clientele.
While Guinness recognises both male and female barbers, the previous oldest male barber, Anthony Mancinelli of the United States, died after his certification in 2018 at age 107. This leaves Ms Hakoishi as the sole record holder.
Ms Hakoishi's career has spanned nine decades, a testament to her dedication and the enduring relationships she's built with her customers.
'I could come this far only because of my customers,' she shared during a televised news conference held Wednesday at a gymnasium in her hometown of Nakagawa, located in the Tochigi prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
'I'm overwhelmed and filled with joy.'
Born into a farming family in Nakagawa on November 10, 1916, Ms Hakoishi's path diverged from tradition at the age of 14 when she decided to pursue barbering.
Relocating to Tokyo, she honed her skills as an apprentice, eventually earning her barber's licence at 20.
She then opened a salon with her husband, starting a family and having two children. However, her husband was killed after the Japan-China war broke out in 1937.
Ms Hakoishi lost her salon in the deadly March 10, 1945 U.S. firebombing of Tokyo. Before that, she and her children were evacuated elsewhere in the Tochigi prefecture, according to the Guinness website.
It took her eight more years before she opened a salon again, calling it Rihatsu Hakoishi, in her hometown of Nakagawa. Rihatsu is Japanese for barber.
She says she isn't ready to put away her scissors.
'I am turning 109 this year, so I will keep going until I reach 110," she said and smiled confidently.
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